No Place Like Home: The 26th Hunger Games
by Zssillybilly
Summary: One year after the first quarter quell and the districts are in shambles after having to send two of their own children to be slaughtered in the arena. Twenty-four tributes are going in, it's up to you to figure out who comes out alive. Let the 26th Hunger Games begin and may the odds be ever in your favor.
1. Tribute List

_One year after the first quarter quell and the districts are in shambles and are just beginning to pick themselves up after having to send two of their own children to be slaughtered in the arena. Tension and emotions are still running high in the districts so the Capitol is hoping for the most exciting Hunger Games yet._

_Twenty-four tributes are going in, it's up to you to figure out who comes out alive. Let the 26th Hunger Games begin and may the odds be **ever** in your favor._

_*Please be detailed, the more detailed it is, the more likely I'd choose it. _**_Submissions through PM only, _****_any review submissions would be deleted_**_. Also this isn't first come first serve, I will choose the characters that seem best fit for the story, but saying that you can still submit as many tributes as you want, but please send in some bloodbaths because I would hate to kill of any of your wonderful tributes!_

**also anyone who is interested in being my beta please contact me!**

BASICS

Name:

Age:

District:

Appearance:

Personality:

REAPING

Family:

Friends:

*Reaping Outfit:

Reaped/Volunteered:

Reaction/Why:

*Who Comes to Say Goodbye:

CAPITOL

*Train Ride Behavior:

Chariot Ride Behavior:

*Chariot Ride Outfit:

TRAINING

Training Strategy:

Weapon That They Favour:

Weapon That They Can't Use to Save Their Lives:

*What Do They Do at Their Private Session:

*Score You Want (1-12):

INTERVIEWS

Interview Outfit Ideas:

Interview Behavior (what angle they play and any major things they talk about):

ARENA

Arena Strategy:

Allies?:

Career?:

Bloodbath?:

Skills:

Fears:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Preferred Death:

Do You Want Them to Win?:

*What Place Do You Want:

OTHER

*Enemies:

*Arena Ideas:

Anything Else I Forgot:

_**IMPORTANT! I currently do not have any female bloodbath tributes, and that is a problem, bc i just dont think that is a likely event, so for people who have female tributes I will give your other tribute (if u have one) a definite spot in the top ten if you make one of your female tributes a bloodbath and if you do not have another tribute i will give you a certain amount of sponsor points so that you can send something to a tribute of your choice once the games begin. I only need about three female bloodbath tributes so if anyone is interested please contact me on PM.**_

**Tribute List**

District 1

Female: Giselle Lear (17) -Cashmere67

Male: Cornell Lear (17) -Cashmere67

District 2

Female: Pilar Mahoon (15) -Val H

Male: Aris Clancy (18) -twilightLala

District 3

Female: Binary Weiss (16) -Lupus Overkill

Male: Jackson "Jack" Rogers (13) -Schwan

District 4

Female: Astrid Yoziaz (17) -SometimesWitty

Male: Ocean Crescent (17) -Val H

District 5

Female: Asui Namida (13) -Ashbrie13

Male: Rush Friction (13) -escope789

District 6

Female: Thyme Heather (16) -Ashbrie13

Male: Renir Cay (16) -Team Shadow

District 7

Female: Aerin Axdiez (15) -Schwan

Male: RESERVED

District 8

Female: Florenza Brione (16) -escope789

Male: RESERVED

District 9

Female: Adelaide Wellwood (16) -Cashmere67

Male: Nester Dormo (16) -Hoprocker

District 10

Female: Flame Willow (15) -rOxx11

Male: Kolin Bailers (16) -loverman22

District 11

Female: Stargazer "Star" Farmore (13) -Tig379

Male: Rocky Dovlin (16) -Hoprocker

District 12

Female: Paige "Paigey" Mehmet (16) -Paige Melark

Male: Harvar Doke (12) -Ashbrie13

***i will not accept ANY more review tributes because now that i have made it clear (Yay underlining and bolding) people shouldn't be able to not read that rule. i'm not trying to be mean its just i don't want characters to be revealed until actually write about them. if you just got an account and so you are unable to PM leave a review and ask if i can hold a spot for you and i will! **


	2. District 1 Reapings

**Hey guys! Im really sorry i haven't posted the next chapter but i still need the tributes for 2 and a few other districts as well so if you guys could PLEASE get them into me I can start to put up a few a week or so! Thanks! Also if anyone is reading this please check out my chapter in the new 24/24 hunger games story when it comes out (that might be in a while bc I still have to write it but we will see how that goes :P )**

Part 1: The Reapings

District 1

_Thunk. _Giselle turns and smiles triumphantly at her brother as her spear hits its mark right in the training dummy's heart.

"That makes 20 Cornell, pay up!"

"That was a lucky hit lets do first to thirty," Cornell says looking embarrassed.

"You said that when we were still doing first to five, now pay up!" Giselle says looking slightly annoyed. "And anyway," she adds, "we have to go home to get ready for the reaping. I have to look my best if I am going to be on national television."

"You don't _have _to be on national television you know," Cornell mutters, to himself more than to anyone else.

"Yes, I do Cornell. I am not going to argue with you about this again I'm going to volunteer this year and I am going to win." Giselle snaps. She has had this conversation with him many times.

"But you have one more year of eligibility left!" Cornell argues.

"You know why I have to volunteer this year Cornell. Mom won when she was 17 and so will I," Giselle says ending the conversation as she begins to gather all of her training equipment together to go home.

"Then I'm going with you," Cornell declares in a pouty tone of voice.

Giselle drops what she is holding and turns around to stare at her twin. "Cornell, sometimes you act like you are seven not seventeen. You know there can only be one victor, and this year it is going to be me. Don't you dare try to take this away from me," she says in a threatening tone of voice.

"I know I was just saying..." Cornell says in defeated.

"Well, just don't. I need to be on the top of my game today so lets go."

They leave the training center and go out into the parking lot where Giselle's shiny red convertible is parked.

"God, the FIRST thing I am going to do when I get home from winning the games is getting rid of this piece of junk so I can finally getting a real car," Giselle complains to her brother as they get into the car and pull out of the lot. Cornell just nods and looks out the window lost in thought.

* * *

Garnet smiles as he looks in the mirror. Today was his day, the day he has been looking forward to for 4 long years, and now the wait was finally over. Today he would volunteer for the Hunger Games and would finally bring pride to his family again. Four years earlier, his older sister had volunteered, but then died even before the gong rung when she accidentally dropped her token, a small wooden ball that she used to play with as a kid. She was blasted to bits by the mines that are active for the first minute before the games started. The capitol had to send her home in an urn because even they couldn't put her back together again so they cremated her before returning her remains. His family was devastated, both from loosing their beloved daughter who probably would have won if not for her, shall we say incident, and from the embarrassment of it all. No one from District 1 had EVER die on the first day, not to mention even before the games even started! So that is why Garnet was determined to win this year.

When Garnet was little he had a very happy and peaceful childhood. From the first time his sister picked up a spear, it was clear that she was a prodigy of sorts, and so Garnet was ignored mostly and left to do as he pleased. He liked to play in the garden and paint pictures, but when his sister died everything changed. The Hunger Games were supposed to be her thing, but the day her life ended, Garnet's new life began. His parents through him into extensive training, turning his sister's old room into a training room for him, hiring a private coach, and taking him out of school to be home schooled so that he could train more hours of the day. They also got rid of his paint set so that he would have no distractions from training. The first year was the worst. No one wanted to be friends with him anymore because his family was the laughing stock of District 1. He didn't want to train, he wanted to paint, but when he brought it up to his parents they just told him they didn't care. It turned out though that some of his sister's talent had rubbed off on him because in just a year's time, he was as good, if not better, that the other kids his age who had been training all their lives. In the end though, all of his sacrifices were worth it to Garnet because today he knew he would make his family's name mean more than just a bad joke in District 1. It would mean someone people look up, someone people want to be. It would mean a victor.

Garnet glances in the mirror one last time to check his appearance before heading out the door. He opens the garage door and looks at his car and smiles. "_Congratulation Garnet, we're proud of you son!" _is written on the back windshield of his car. _God, mom and dad are more psyched about this than I am! _Garnet thinks to himself as he starts the car. Just yesterday his parents threw him a surprise going away party and all of his friends from the training center were there as well as his coach and a few of his parents close friends. It had been so much fun, and it had only gotten him more excited for what was to come the next day.

He arrives at the town square 10 minutes early so he lingers in the parking lot waiting for one of his friends to show up so that they can wait in line together. As people pass by him they pat him on the back and congratulate him like the reaping is already over. Garnet smiles, _This is how it is going to be from now on,_ he thinks. _Everyone begging to be friends with me; no more will I be know for my sister's mistake. _Finally his friends show up and they all get in line and get signed in. He doesn't even feel it when the peacekeeper pricks his finger because he is so excited. They walk over to the 18 year old section and even more people pat him on the back or clap him on the shoulder. Soon enough though, the escort, some dimwit capitol woman named Perdita Griffin, steps up on stage and announces that they will start in a few minutes so would everyone please quiet down. _This is it! _Garnet thinks, and smiles.

* * *

When they get home Giselle and Cornell hurry upstairs to take showers and get dressed. In just a few minutes Cornell is ready in slacks and white collared shirt with a special red tie his mom got him to match Giselle's dress. After waiting 15 minutes for Giselle he decides it will be easier just to drive himself, so he calls up to her that he is leaving and then sets off in his bright yellow thunderbird to go to the reaping. When he arrives he realizes he is an hour early so he goes to a coffee shop across the street to wait. "I have quite a bit of thinking to do" he mutters to himself and grimaces at what is to come.

On the other side of town Giselle is just stepping out of the shower. She goes to her room to find a beautiful red knee length dress laid out on her bed. She goes over to it and picks it up, and a note falls out. She puts the dress back onto the bed and picks it up and reads it. _Our dearest Giselle, good luck at the reaping! We love you so much and wish we could be there to help you get ready, but we had to leave early this morning to help set up. We can't wait to see you in your beautiful dress. Remind your brother to wear his matching tie and that we will meet him after the reaping before we go to see you, so tell him not to wonder off. Love your adoring parents. _Oh well, Giselle thinks, a bit disappointed that her parents wont be there to help her on her big day. She opens her door and yells down the hall to her brother, but she gets no response. She frowns in annoyance when she realizes he isn't there. _Why didn't he wait for me? _She thinks to herself. _He knows it's my big day, couldn't he have considered that I might need some support?_ Angrily she calls down to the maid to come help her get ready. Although the maid is kind and does a good job making her look her best, Giselle can't help but think that it should be her family helping her instead. Finally she is ready to leave. She thanks the maid and gets into her car and drives to the reaping. When she arrives her friends are all in the parking lot waiting for her. They squeal when she drives up and start gushing to her about how beautiful she looks and how it's so cool that her car matches her dress. She just smiles and leads them all to go get in line to sign in. When she get's to the 17 year old section she can't help but notice Cornell isn't there yet.

"Have you seen my brother?" she asks one of Cornell's friends. She thinks his name is Griffon.

"No not yet. Why? Didn't he come with you?" he asked, obviously confused.

"No, he decided I wasn't worth waiting for," she scoffs, flinging her hair over her shoulder in disgust.

"He is just crazy Giselle. I'd wait for you forever if I knew I had a chance!" pipes up one of Cornell's other friends named Lumen.

"Well then it's a good thing you know you don't have a chance, or you'd be waiting a LONG time now wouldn't you." Giselle answers. "Anyway," she adds, "He's my _brother_ you moron."

Her last comment makes all of the boys hoot with laughter, and Lumen's cheeks turn bring red and he mumbles something along the lines of "that's not what I meant", but Giselle isn't listening as she sets off to the girls section. Not long after she arrives, the District 1 escort Perdita Griffin hobbles out on stage in heals that are not only obviously too tall for her but are deadly looking her and for those around her.

"Maybe I can take those in as my token," Giselle jokes to her friends, and they all start laughing hysterically. _I doubt any of them even got that, _she thinks darkly to herself. Her friends are not what anyone could call smart, but they were always there for her when she needed them, so they were alright.

"We will be starting in a few minutes, so if everyone could please settle down it would be appreciated?" Perdita finally says when she gets to the microphone in her funny capitol accent that always sounded like she is asking a question.

"This is it!" one of Giselle's friend squeals excitedly.

_And I am finally ready_, Giselle thinks to herself grinning.

* * *

After a few minutes, the escort finally gets everyone settled down and so she introduces the mayor and then goes to sit down. Garnet can't help but wonder how she is managing to stay up in those shoes since she is wobbling with each step, but somehow she gets to her seat and sits down with a relieved smile. The mayor give the speech about the rebellion and the start of the Hunger Games that everyone in Panem knows by heart, but this year, instead of zoning out or chatting quietly with his friends, he listens to ever word, drinking it all in as if it were the first time he has heard it. When it is time for the reaping to begin the escort shakily gets up again and walks to the microphone. "Welcome, citizens of District One! Welcome to the 26th Annual Hunger Games! I am thrilled to be the newest escort for this marvelous district! And may the odds EVER, be in your favor! Ladies first!" she twitters happily and totters over to the girl's bowl. When she gets there she sticks her hand in the ball and grabs the first slip she touches and takes it out and reads, "Belle Weever!" Before anyone is even able to figure out who Belle is, a hand shoots up.

"I volunteer!" screams a voice. Garnet knows that voice, and he shutters as the devil herself, Giselle Lear, steps up on stage in a shimmering red dress. "It is only fitting" scoffs Garnet. Giselle had been one of the kids who bullied him after his sister died. In fact, she had been the worst of them, even though she was a year younger. _So that is who my District partner is going to be. _Garnet thinks. _At least I will have a legitimate reason to kill her now. _By now Perdita Griffon is staggering over to the boys ball to pick the male tribute. She sticks her hand in and pulls out a slip. _This is it!_ think Garnet. He takes in a breath and is about to shout out, but before he even is able to form the first word his voice is drowned out.

"I volunteer! My name is Cornell Lear and I volunteer as tribute!"

* * *

**Hi Guys! What do you think of my first chapter? Please leave a review! I would like to thank Cashmere67 who created Giselle and Cornell for helping me a lot on this chapter and betaing it! Also did anyone get my reference to the first book with Garnet's sister? Speaking of Garnet, isn't his story depressing? If people like him enough I might write a different story just about him later but let me know what you think.  
**


	3. District 2 Reapings

**Hey guys! I know I said I would have this chapter up a week ago but I was on vacation and for some strange reason, the wifi didn't let me on the official fanfic site, it only let me on the mobile site, and I can't post a chapter on my ipod… so anyways, enough with the excuses, and onto the chapter! I hope you like it! Review!**

District 2 Reaping

Aris Clancy

*Beep beep beep* goes Aris's alarm clock. He sits up and smiles. On any other day, Aris would have hit it with his hand or his pillow until it shut up and then gone back to sleep, but today was different. This was the day he would finally start his journey to become the victor of the 26th Hunger Games.

He gets out of bed and runs a hand through his short jet black hair as he walks to his bathroom and steps into the shower. A few minutes later he gets out and walks downstairs in his fluffy bathrobe.

"Maid!" he calls and an elderly housekeeper comes bustling in.

"What's for breakfast?" Aris demands.

"The chef has made a buffet of all of your favorite dishes," the housekeeper replies. "It is waiting for you in the dining room."

"Good," Aris huffs, brushing past her. When he gets to the dining room he sees his mom and dad at either ends of their long dining table, silently eating their breakfast.

"Mother, Father," Aris greets his parents curtly.

"Hello son," his father says, not looking up from his paper. His mother only nods in his direction.

Aris walks over to the buffet laid out at the end of the grand room. When he gets there he sees steaming platters of sausages, bacon, eggs, pancakes, waffles, fresh fruit, and a jug of hot chocolate.

_I guess this will do_, Aris thinks haughtily. _If only my parents weren't such stingy fools I wouldn't have to deal with such incompetent staff._

He piles some food onto his plate before taking it up to his room. He sets it down on his desk and takes out his to do list that he had been making of things he must do after he wins the Hunger Games.

_30. Hire capable and efficient staff,_ he writes.

Aris couldn't wait to be out of this house. His parents had always provided him with whatever he wanted, but he knew that was just to make up for their lack of usefulness. They couldn't do anything without their money, and he despised them for that. They were the reason he had originally wanted to be in the Hunger Games: to get away from them.

He quickly eats his breakfast and then goes to his bureau where he gets out his usual outfit; black jeans and a black shirt. He looks in the mirror and sees his bright yellow eyes staring back at him. He puts on his cocky smile and walks out his door.

He is slowly walking down the spiral staircase leading into the main hall when he hears a voice that he knows well. He jumps down the last few steps and strides out the door where his best friend Max and his girlfriend Monroe are standing, talking and laughing. When they see him Max smiles and waves and Monroe runs up to him and gives him a hug.

"How's it going man?" Max asks as they all walk down the path to his car, Aris and Monroe hand in hand.

"I am doing quite well, thank you for inquiring," Aris replies.

"Oh lay off it Ari!" Monroe chuckles, squeezing Aris's hand. "You don't have to talk like that all the time!"

"Of what am I to lay off?" Aris asks her, clearly confused. "And I do not speak in any particular manner that I know of."

Monroe and Max just laugh at him as they get into the car.

"Why are you mocking me?" Aris asks angrily.

"Don't worry bro, we aren't laughing at you, we're laughing with you," Max reassures him.

"But I am not even laughing," Aris says, even more confused.

"Oh never mind!" Monroe laughs and turns on the radio, ending the conversation.

With that Max pulls out of the driveway and they drive to the reaping.

* * *

Pilar Mahoon

"Just shut up will you?" a shrill voice shreds up the stairs and floods into Pilar's room.

"Ughhh," Pilar groans, waking up. She knew that voice and she hated it. She covers her ears with her pillow and tries to go back to sleep.

"No, you shut up! You are such a brat!" a similar voice shouts from the other side of the house.

Pilar gets out of bed, storms out of her room, and leans over the railing.

"No both of you shut up!" she bellows down to them. The voices stop short for a few heavenly seconds, but moments later Pilar hears the sound of angry footsteps storming up he stairs to meet her. When she turns around, two identical girls in pink bathrobes are standing with their hands on their hips glaring at her.

"What did you just say to us?" the one on the left demands.

"Oh, I was just commenting on how you should SHUT THE HELL UP!" Pilar says starting off in a sweet voice, but raising her voice to a shout at the end.

"See, I told you that's what she said," the girl on the right turns to her sister and says. She turns to Pilar. "She thought that you wouldn't be that stupid as to tell us what to do," she says menacingly.

"Oh well, I guess she forgot how stupid I am," Pilar says sarcastically and waltzes back into her room, slamming the door.

God, Pilar hated her sisters. All that they cared about was their looks, and their popularity. It was sickening for Pilar to have to be related to them.

_Whatever_, Pilar thinks. _Hopefully one of them will volunteer this year so I can at least be rid of one of them._

But then she snickers. The idea of one of her prissy, dainty, weak older sisters in the Hunger Games was so absurd she dismissed immediately.

_They would probably be out of the games as soon as they broke a nail! _she thinks and laughs to herself.

Now in her room she looks wistfully at her bed, the fluffy comforter calling to her, inviting her into it's warmth, but she knows it is time to get up anyway. She walks over to her dresser to get dressed for the reaping.

The reaping, the glorious day where one lucky girl and one lucky boy gets chosen to represent their district in the Hunger Games. In some of the weaker districts reaping day is something feared, and being reaped is a death certificate, but not in District 2. To Pilar, District 2 is the only district that sees the Hunger Games for what they truly are. Winning the games isn't just a gift from the capital, like the tributes from district one usually think, and they aren't just a place where innocent kids are sent to be murdered, like the non-career districts usually think. The games are something more. You have to work for it, not just have it handed to you on a silver platter.

That is why Pilar believes District 2 has the most victors, because when someone from District 2 sets their sight on something, they will do whatever it takes to attain that goal.

A yell from outside her door brings Pilar back to her senses.

*Bang* Something slams into the wall. Her sisters must be going at it again.

_Good_, Pilar thinks maliciously to herself, _Maybe one of them can take out the other for me._

She opens the top drawer of her dresser and pulls out a white tank top. She puts it on and then rustles through the bottom drawer for her favorite pair of brown shorts. She pulls those on and goes over to her closet to grab her sneakers and slip them on. She finally looks in the mirror and sees her dark hair hanging around her face. Her fierce eyes glare out through her bangs, hating anyone who crosses their path.

She smirks at her reflection. She looks tough, just how she likes it. Being the younger sister of Granite and Marble Mahoon was always difficult for her because people always expected her to be just like them.

"As if," Pilar scoffs as she strides out of her bedroom and down the stairs to the kitchen. There her 6 year old brothers and 12 year old sister are sitting around the table eating cereal and watching Hunger Games reruns on the TV. Pilar's sister, Stone, looks up to see who came in, but when she sees who it is she just makes a face like she's smelled something disgusting and goes back to watching TV.

Pilar glares daggers at Stone and gets out a bowl for cereal and pores herself some.

"Go Harsen!" Pilar's little brother shrieks, urging on the District 2 tribute on the screen. Currently the network was showing the final fight from a few years back.

"Yay!" Pilar's other brother yells gleefully as Harsen beheads the other tribute on the screen.

"He already won like 3 years ago you idiots," Pilar says to them annoyed. Their high pitched voices were giving her a headache.

"Mommy!" one of them yells, making Pilar cover her ears in pain. "Pilar said a bad word!"

"Oh shut up, idiot isn't even a bad word," she snaps angrily at him. Her little brothers were always trying to get her in trouble.

"She said it again!" the other one yells. "And she said the 's' word!"

"Pilar!" her mom says coming in to the kitchen to yell at her. "Don't you use that language, especially not with your brothers!" she scolds.

"Oh grow up," Pilar says annoyed. "Shut up is hardly bad _language_," she says, mocking her mom's tone on the last word.

"That's strike one young lady, if you want consequences keep going," her mom says getting angry.

"Like I care," Pilar says, sounding bored.

"That's strike two! One more and you will be spending MUCH more time with me, here, at home, grounded," her mom snaps.

"Oh boy, I get to spend more time with you?!" Pilar says with fake enthusiasm. "If I knew that before I would have been mean to them MUCH earlier!" she says sarcastically, pointing at her brothers.

"That's it!" her mom yells. "You are grounded for two weeks!"

"I only get to share your wonderful company for two weeks? How depressing," Pilar says with fake horror.

"You asked for it, no leaving the house for a month except for school!" her mom hollers, her face flushing red with anger.

"Whatever," Pilar says, now bored. She gets up and strides out of the door. Outside, she allows herself a smirk. Her mom was always grounding her, but it never worked. She couldn't control Pilar because her only power was grounding her, but if she just didn't listen there was nothing she could do.

Smirking, she walks to the town square for the reaping. When she gets there she goes and signs in and strides to the 15 year old section.

"Pilar!" a low husky voice calls from behind her.

Smiling, Pilar turns around to greet the boy from the training center who she hung out with most.

"Hey Taylor, what's up?" she asks, not really caring how he actually is.

"I'm just waiting for the reaping to start," he answers.

"Cool," Pilar replies. That's what she liked about Taylor. He wasn't really interested in other people's lives, and he knew people didn't really care about what was happening in his. If it had been Granite or Marble who she had asked, they would have given her a blow by blow account of every motion they had made since their eyes first saw the sun that morning.

Instead, Pilar and Taylor just stand side by side and wait for the reaping to start. Soon the escort Marvin Manic strides out onstage in a pink and purple suit.

Even though Pilar loves almost everything about the capital, she could never understand their fashion. Bright colors were never Pilar's favorite thing, but the capital took the worst of them and put them together. It just confuses her, but she quickly gets over it because she is excitedly wondering who will be their tributes for this year.

"Hello marvelous District 2!" Marvin booms into the microphone and the crowd in the square lets out a deafening cheer.

"Welcome to the reaping for the 26th annual Hunger Games!" he yells once the cheers die down. This is followed by yet another round of whoops and cheers.

"Happy Hunger Games everyone and may the odds be _ever_ in your favor!" he finishes, and relinquishes the microphone to the mayor. While mayor gives his speech, Pilar is going over the possible volunteers for this year.

When the mayor is done, Marvin Manic walks over to the girls' bowl and announces, "Ladies first!"

Everyone falls silent as he sticks his hand into the bowl and pulls out the slip on top of the pile. He unfolds the creamy white slip of paper and reads into the microphone, "Pilar Mahoon!"

Pilar looks up, surprised. She would never have thought that she would be reaped since she only had four slips in there, but she quickly gets over the surprise. She puts on her cockiest grin and strides up to the stage. When she gets there she turns and looks out at the crowd.

"Any volunteers?" Marvin asks expectantly.

Silence falls over the square. Pilar spots her sister standing in the 18 year old section smirking.

After a minute or so Marvin says, "Ok, onto the boys!"

Pilar glares accusatorially out into the crowd. How _dare_ no one volunteer for her. Of course she wanted to be in the games; she had been training her entire life to be in them, but she wasn't planning to volunteer for a few years.

_Whatever_, she thinks offended. _I'll just win and show them I'm _**_not_**_ someone to be messed with!_ She glares murderously into the camera.

_There,_ she thinks smugly. _Now they know I mean business, and I can't wait to see mom try to ground me now,_ she adds ironically to herself. She gives one more smirk before turning to see what is happening with the male tribute.

* * *

Aris Clancy

Once Aris, Max, and Monroe arrive at the reaping, they sign in then stride over to the 18 year old section. Max and Aris break off and step into the boys section, and Monroe continues on. The reaping starts shortly and Aris zones out until the escort announces he will be drawing the girl name. He calls a name and a cocky girl from the 15 year old section struts up to the stage and looks out at the crowd. Surprisingly, no one volunteers when the escort asks for any, so the escort moves onto he boys. Aris sees the girl on stage glaring at someone, and when he follows her gaze he sees two identical girls smirking at her.

"What on earth are those young women so happy about?" Aris asks Max pointing them out.

"That's Granite and Marble Mahoon! They're hot! And that's their annoying little brat of a sister! I'd also be happy that she was reaped if I was related to her," Max whispers back.

"Interesting," Aris mutters, shifting his gaze back to the escort on stage. _God his apparel is outrageous!_ Aris thinks to himself when he sees the escort again. _He should be ashamed of himself to represent District 2 in such a preposterous getup._

Onstage, Marvin Manic is drawing a slip of paper out of the boys ball.

"Carson Benhill!" he announces into the microphone.

_Nows my time!_ Aris thinks to himself.

"I volunteer!" Aris shouts out and he strides up to the stage with his head held high. He reaches the steps and takes them two at a time. In no time he is on the stage standing next to the unsightly escort and the younger girl.

"And your name is?" the escort asks him.

"Aris Clancy," Aris answers proudly.

"District 2, I give you your tributes for the 26th Hunger Games, Pilar Mahoon and Aris Clancy!"

**Please check out the story Ella's Rose by our own Val H, creator of some tributes in these games you are yet to meet! I assure you you will not be disappointed! Here's the link:**

** www. fanfiction s/ 8371219 /1/**

**Also check out the new SYOT by Bryanne Taylin called The 52nd Hunger Games because she needs some tributes! Heres the link:**

** www. fanfiction s/ 8332718 /1/**

**(Get rid of the spaces)**


	4. District 3 Reapings

**Hey guys! Since I took so long on the last chapter, I thought I'd give you the next chapter ASAP! So here you go! Special thanks to my beta, Ashbrie13! You were a lot of help :) **

**Now, without further adieu, District 3! **

District 3

Jackson "Jack" Rogers

Jack wakes up to grey light shinning in through the thin curtains hanging on his small window above his bed. After lying in bed for a few minutes, his alarm clock that his dad made for him goes off, so he gets up and goes to his family's only bathroom to take a short shower.

When he steps out and looks at himself in the small mirror hanging above the sink, he sighs. His short blonde curls and piercing ice blue eyes have always made him stand out, but not in a good way. Since he has always been small and looks a lot younger than he is, grown ups have always babied him, and kids have always made fun of him.

They tell him to go back to District 1 because of his fair complexion and light hair and eyes, even though they know he is just as much from District 3 as they are. He hates it, especially because he hates attention. Jack would much rather stay in the background and not be noticed. That way no one would be mean to him and he could finally just relax.

He sighs again and slips on his round wire frame glasses that his dad made for him, since his family doesn't have enough money to pay for the nicer ones made for the merchant class of District 3.

You see, his dad is an inventor and is very smart and skilled at building things, but somehow he hasn't gotten credit for more than half of the things he has invented. So his family goes on living in poverty while some hotshot in the capitol buys a new summer home or something else not needed.

As Jack leaves the bathroom, he passes his dad in the hallway. His dad grumbles a hello and then stumbles into the bathroom. Sometimes, Jack is amazed at how different his dad is in the morning than during the rest of the day. He is a really kind man, but Jack thinks the morning is the time when his dad thinks about how his life hasn't ended up how he planned.

Jack walks into his room and tries to find an outfit that will help him blend in at the reaping, so he pulls on a long sleeved black shirt, a clean pair of slacks, and his sneakers. He glances in the mirror one more time before jogging downstairs to the kitchen where his mom is standing over a pot of simmering oatmeal.

"Oh boy!" Jack says when he sees what is cooking.

"Oh, I'm glad you're up!" she says, smiling up at him from the pot.

"How did you get the ingredients?" Jack asks glancing at the oats and the small bag of brown sugar she has laid out on the counter in front of her. He knows this must have been very expensive, something his family can't usually afford.

"Oh, well your dad just sold one of his patents to the mayor to give to the capitol," she says quickly, not looking Jack in the eyes.

"Oh mom!" he says, immediately feeling guilty. "I can't eat this knowing dad is suffering because of it!" No wonder his dad was so reserved this morning. He was mourning the loss of yet another of his ingenious inventions to the capitol.

"Now young man," his mom says in a stern voice, "You will eat this breakfast and you will enjoy it. It was your fathers idea in the first place, and you will not let his efforts go to waist."

"You're right mom," he says knowing once she uses that tone of voice there is no arguing. Jack sits down at the small handmade table to eat a steaming bowl of delicious oatmeal. He can't believe how good it tastes; he thinks there is not better taste in the world. After he finishes two bowls and thanks his mom, he heads out the door to go to the reaping.

* * *

Binary Weiss

Binary stands in front of her mirror and frowns. She shifts her shoulder length dark brown curls first in front of her shoulders, and then behind them. After a few minutes of fussing, she finally gives up and pulls it up into her usual ponytail.

No matter what she tries, Binary can never seem to hide how one of her shoulders is slightly higher than the other, and it has made her self conscious ever since she was about 7 and she realized that other kids sometimes stopped and stared and her awkward posture.

"Oh, well," she sighs and pulls out her old light blue dress and gray flats. The dress still fits her from her second reaping, as she was already quite tall by the time she was thirteen, being about 5' 6". Still, the dress is a little short, coming a few inches above her knee, and now it is slightly tighter than it used to be, since she is 5'10" now.

She tries to tug the dress down farther but it refuses to budge, so she finally just leaves it how it is, a bit bunched in the slips on her flats; luckily they were bought just last year so they still fit her perfectly.

She walks downstairs the kitchen, where her mom is sitting silently grading papers.

"You're up early mom," Binary comments, looking surprised. Her mom is a teacher, who is always grading her papers late into the night.

"Oh!" her mom squeaks, jumping in surprise. When she turns around, Binary sees the dark bags under her eyes and she frowns at her mom.

"You haven't gone to bed yet, mom, have you?" Binary asks, already knowing the answer. Her mom had thrown herself into her work nine years ago when Binary's father, Byte Weiss, died of a heart attack when she was eight.

Byte had been a family man and Binary had been very close to him when she was young. When he died, the whole family was traumatized. Over time they all recovered, but everyone had different ways of dealing with the pain. Her mom, Data, threw herself into work; teaching, cleaning, cooking, anything to keep her mind and hands busy.

When Byte was still alive, he worked as an engineer who was well respected in their community, so he was well paid and he made a few inventions that provided money for his family as well. Now that he is no longer there to provide for his family, Data is doing her part to help.

Binary became very reserved after her father's death, and it was around that time she began to shut out everyone around her. She was very socially awkward and so since she was by herself so often she started to tinker with her father's unfinished inventions. Since she and her dad used to work on them together she felt closer to him when she as in his workshop tinkering away.

When she would sit on his workbench, she felt like he was right next to her, guiding her hand. Her favorite thing of his to tinker with was his old watch. It had been his grandfather's watch, so since it was so old, it was constantly breaking. Binary remembers when her father would come over to her with his sideways grin holding out his watch to her.

"You think you could take a look at my watch doc? There seems to be something wrong," he would always say to her. They would then spend the next few days figuring out what was wrong and then fixing it. These were some of her favorite memories from her childhood.

After her dad died, Binary would wear his watch everywhere, but one day a few weeks ago it stopped working. Now it is her main project to fix it. Binary glances down at the familiar face with the hands stuck at 6:43.

"I really should fix this," she mutters to herself.

"Huh?" her mom asks glancing up from her papers.

"Oh nothing. I was just saying I should fix dad's watch. It stopped at few weeks ago and I haven't figured out what's wrong yet," Binary says as she gets out a bowl for some chicken soup for her mom. It always makes her feel better when she has been up too long.

"I remember when you and your dad used to work on that together," her mom says quietly, thinking of a happier time.

"It sure would be easier if he were here," Binary comments, "I just can't figure out what's wrong! I've taken it apart about 20 times, but I just can't seem to figure it out."

"Well of course you can't figure it out," a new voice says in a nasty way. "Dad always just told you that you helped so that you wouldn't throw a fit."

Binary turns around to glare at the smirking face of her brother Tect.

"Just shut up, would you?" Binary snaps angrily at her brother. Tect had always been a bit closed off to his family and although he and Binary were close, they often fought as young children. But when their dad died, he changed. He became cruel and distant to his whole family. He was part of a large group of friends.

Many days he would leave for school and then not come home until very late after spending the evening out with all of them. What they did together, the family never knew, as his cruel eyes and brusque demeanor kept all of them from even asking. So these last few years, he and Binary had pretty much ignored each other. Although once in a while they would have an argument and Binary always left feeling angry and hurt.

"Whatever," Tect says, as he brushes past her and stalks out the door.

* * *

Jack Rogers

When Jack gets to the reaping his stomach begins to rumble with nervousness. Although he had been to one other reaping before, he's still pretty new to it, so he's much more frightened than the older, bigger kids surrounding him.

He tries to shrug off his worries as he gets in line to sign in. When he gets to the front of the line, the peacekeeper pricks his finger and he winces as a single tear drips down his face, before he is able to wipe it away, feeling embarrassed. The peacekeeper glances at him questioningly, as if wondering if he was even old enough to be reaped, but she doesn't day anything so jack hurries past and gets into the 13 year old boys section.

As soon as he gets in place, District 3's new escort Zaydon Kaydon waltzes out on stage in a bright orange suit and pink hair and announces, "Welcome to the 26th annual Hunger Games! May the odds be ever in your favor! I will now start with the girls!" He walks over to the girls bowl and sticks his hand in, but then there is some confusion onstage when he realizes the mayor hasn't read the Treaty of Treason yet. He chuckles, feeling embarrassed as he hands the mic to the mayor.

After a few minutes of shuffling around, everyone is in their designated spots. The mayor gives the speech and finally the escort is back at the girls' bowl and is reading the name "Binary Weiss."

After a few seconds a tall girl from the 16 year old section calmly moves up to the stage, but Jack can easily see how scared she is. She stiffly moves up to the stage with her hands clenched. When she gets on stage she stands there with a stoic face, staring out into the crowd.

_She looks determined_, Jack thinks to himself. _I'm glad I'm not her enemy._

Next, Zaydon Kaydon walks to the boys' bowl. "Please not me, please not me, please not me," Jack whispers to himself.

The escort sticks his hand in the bowl and fishes around for a whole minute before finally drawing out a slip and saying "Jackson Rogers."

"That's me," Jack whispers. In a dazed states he walks up to the stage. He doesn't pay attention to what is going on around. All he can think is, _That's me. I got reaped, and I am going to die._


	5. District 4 Reapings

**Hey guys! Here's another chapter for you. I'm trying to get as many chapters out of the way as I can before school starts *sobs* so be expecting the next one before too long (I hope...). **

**Also, this is an announcement for people with tributes in theses games. Over the next few weeks while I get out al of the reapings, start thinking about whom you (well your tribute(s) anyways) might want to ally with, or become enemies with, or have any sort of relationship with in general. I want to know! So start thinking about that while you read the Reapings! Anyways, on with the Chapter!**

District 4

Astrid Yoziaz

Astrid grins as her knife hits the bullseye for the third time.

"Yes!" Astrid shrieks and dances in a happy circle before going to retrieve her 3 knives.

"That's not fair!" Astrid's older brother Jerico huffs, looking like a little boy who didn't get his way.

"Hey, a game's a game Jerico," Jerico's twin, Ken, says chuckling.

"Well, whatever," Jerico grumps. "You should go get ready for the reaping anyway," he adds to Astrid.

"Oh right. That," Astrid says, her smile immediately faltering. The reaping. The day where two "lucky" kids get picked to go fight to the death in an arena packed with horrifying monsters and bloodthirsty children. Astrid hated the hunger games, but since most people from District 4 are obsessed with them, she didn't usually get to voice her opinions except when she was at home.

"Astrid," Ken says in a warning tone.

"I know, I know. I am just always afraid of being picked!" she says, defending herself.

"Astrid," Jerico says, dropping the grumpy voice and replacing it with a tender one. "What district are we from?"

District 4," Astrid answers, wondering where he is going with this.

"Exactly. And haven't people from District 4 been training their whole lives to compete?" he asks her.

"You're right, I know you're right, but there's always a chance. You remember a few years ago when that one girl got reaped and no one volunteered?"

"And then she went on to win that year," he answers. "Now, stop worrying and go get dressed."

"Ok," Astrid says, smiling again. Her brothers always knew how to make her feel better. She walks down the hall to her room and goes to her closet.

"What should I wear?" she mutters to herself while she ruffles through her closet. She settles on her favorite yellow dress and flip flops. She slips on the dress and looks in the mirror.

She chuckles when she sees her reflection. Almost every girl in District 4 will be wearing their newest, prettiest dresses in hopes of being noticed by the cameras. But here she was in a faded dress, very warn out from years of use, with a pair of flip flops in her hand.

_Oh well,_ she thinks to herself. _It's not like I'm going to be on national television today so it doesn't even matter what I look like._ She pads silently back down the hall, barefoot, to the family room where her brothers are playing darts again, neither one of them hitting the bullseye like she usually does.

"Hey!" calls Astrid to her brothers.

"Ahhhhh!" Jerico shrieks in surprise when he hears her voice. The knife he was about to throw veers off course and sticks into the floor a few inches from Astrid's toe.

"Watch it!" Astrid yells. She throws her shoes onto the couch next to her and pulls the knife out of the floor. She straightens up and sends it flying into the bullseye.

"You wouldn't last two minutes in the arena, Jerico," Ken chuckles. "You're too jumpy. You would probably jump off your platform early and blow yourself up like that girl from District 1 a few years back."

"Shut up!" Jerico snaps. "And anyway," he adds, "she dropped her token, for your information."

"Whatever, you get what I mean," Ken says.  
"You guys really need to get ready for the reaping. You still have one year eligibility left, and you don't want to miss out on your last year do you?" she says, adding a heavily sarcastic fake capital accent onto the last part.

"You know we need to find those darts again," Jerico says ignoring her. "Playing inside with knives is really getting dangerous."

"Well, it's only dangerous with you around," Ken replies.

"Oh is that so?" he says smiling and twirling his last knife menacingly.

"Guys," Astrid says, waving a hand in front of their faces to get them to focus back on her. "I was serious about you being late. You only have 30 minutes before the reaping starts."

"Ok, mom," Jerico teases.

"Whatever, but don't come crying to me when the peacekeepers do the first public whipping for 100 years on your sorry backs," Astrid snaps, annoyed. She walks out the door and slams it on her way out.

Ken and Jerico stand there staring at the door for a few seconds.

"3, 2, 1," they say in unison. On "0" the door opens and Astrid strides back in.

"I forgot my shoes," she says curtly and brushes past them to the couch. A few seconds later she strides out the door again, slamming it harder, just for effect.

When she's gone, Ken and Jerico burst into laughter and then start up their game of darts again.

* * *

Ocean Crescent

"Ocean Crescent, get down here right now!" a shrill voice calls up the stairs.

"Here we go again," Ocean sighs to himself and jogs downstairs to the kitchen where his family is all sitting around the table eating crab cakes and eggs.

"What's wrong now, mom?" Ocean asks.

"I woke you up 30 minutes ago! What have you been doing for half an hour?" his mom demands.

"I took a shower, and then I was talking to Rowan on the phone. He's really worried about today," Ocean answers calmly. This was his daily routine with his mom. She was always yelling at him. It was always something: he didn't do well in school, he was spending too much time with his friends and not his family, his room was messy, the dog hadn't been walked, anything wasn't going perfectly and Ocean would get yelled at. Ocean and his mom don't have what you might call the _best_ relationship.

"Oh, so you were hanging out with your friends instead of spending time with your family?" his mom replies incredulously, as if he were confessing to a murder.

"Oh lay off him Saffron, it's reaping day for Snow's sake," Ocean's dad says, defending his son.

"All the more reason he should be spending as much time with his family as possible!" his mom butts in.

"Saffron," his dad warns.

Ok, ok," she says in defeat.

"And anyway, it's hard for beautiful men like us to balance our social lives with our home lives," he jokes, winking at Ocean.

Saffron doesn't laugh.

"Ocean!" his little sister jumps out of her chair and into Ocean's arms. She wiggles her whole body like a happy puppy as Ocean tickles her stomach and so she jumps down and starts running circles around him.

"Shell!" Ocean laughs as he finally catches her and flings her over his shoulder. "Calm down! Or I might have to TICKLE you some more!" he says as he gives her one more tickle before placing her back in her chair. Shell stays put and giggles as her brother pulls out the chair next to her and sits down.

"Guess who came by this morning," Ocean's dad says as he is serving him some breakfast.

"Who?" Ocean asks as he grabs a piece of crab cake off of Shell's plate and shoves it into his mouth.

"Hey!" Shell yells in protest. "That was mine! And it was those girls who followed me home the other day," She answers as she gets up to get another crab cake.

"Oh, god. They really need to leave me alone!" Ocean complains starting on his breakfast.

Ever since about 8th grade, girls had obsessed over him. At first it had been fun, he liked the attention. But after a few years he learned that almost every single girl who threw themselves at him were pretty much the same.

He only had one real girl friend now, and that's all she really was. A girl who happens to be his friend. That's how he liked it, no complications like a crush or something stupid to ruin their friendship.

"They really need to leave _me_ alone!" Shell says, bring Ocean back to the present.

"That _is_ a bit messed up," Ocean agrees. Some of the girls had become so obsessed with him that they had started to follow Shell, his 10 year old sister, around asking her questions about her brother.

"You think?" Shell says sarcastically.

"Sorry Shelly. I'd tell them to stop, but then they might think that they succeeded because I talked to them," Ocean says, ruffling her hair.

"You are oh _so_ helpful," she grumbles darkly, fixing her hair.

Ocean just laughs and ruffles her hair again, messing it up. He gets up from the table to put his dishes in the sink.

"Thanks for breakfast mom," Ocean says, turning to his mom. "It was delicious."

Oh it was nothing," she says obviously pleased that he commented on her cooking.

Sometimes she was so predictable. She could be yelling at Ocean one moment, but then he would complement her and she was happy again.

_Oh well, whatever floats her boat, and keeps me not grounded, _he thinks to himself.

"You should be getting ready now," his dad says looking at his watch.

"Ok," Ocean responds and walks back upstairs to his room. He pulls on his favorite soft grey T-shirt and a pair of navy blue cargo shorts and his sandals.

He goes back downstairs and calls out to his family that he is leaving before walking to the front of the house to leave.

"Hold on a sec," his dad calls to him from the kitchen.

Ocean pauses with his hand on the doorknob. His dad comes out with dish gloves on, he had obviously just been cleaning up in the kitchen. A lot of people in their part of District 4 paid people to do that, but his father had grown up in the extremely poor part of the district so he still spent their money very carefully, even though their family was rather wealthy now.

When he gets to Ocean he surprisingly opens the door for him and motions to him to go outside. When he does, his dad follows him and closes the door behind him.

"What is it dad?" Ocean asks, concerned. His dad only took him aside to talk when something was serious.

"It's nothing too serious, I just wanted to warn you about Rowan. I saw his father at the bar yesterday at 3pm, and you know how he gets sometimes," his dad replies in a hushed tone.

"Oh no," Ocean says, immediately feeling worried. Rowan had been his best friend since, well since forever. Their moms had been friends when they were younger, so their families had always been close. But then Rowan's mom got really sick, and instead of being there for his son when he needed him most, his dad turned to drinking. He became mean, and he started to hit Rowan. Ocean's family now lets Rowan stay with them whenever he needs, but it still happens occasionally.

"Just be very sensitive with Rowan. You know how he can get," his dad finishes. Ocean's whole family loved Rowan like he was their own.

"Ok, thanks dad. I'll defiantly keep that in mind," Ocean says, and walks down the steps.

"Bye," his dad calls. "Good luck and tell Rowan we all say hi and good luck too!"

"I will," Ocean calls back. "By the way is it ok if I take the one of the cars?"

"Sure son, drive carefully!"

"Thanks," he replies as he gets into the old green car. He sets off for Rowan's house lost in thought.

* * *

Astrid Yoziaz

"They are such idiots sometimes!" Astrid complains to her friend Orina. They are standing in the 17 year old section in the town square, waiting for the reaping to start. She had just finished telling her about that morning's events.

"I think they're funny," Orina says, smiling.

"Sometimes I think you're more related to them than I am!" Astrid says exasperated.

"Oh I wish I was related to them!" Orina says wistfully. "It's so boring at home. It's all talk of the capital and the number of fish that we caught this season. I hate politics!" Orina complains. "I wish I had an interesting family like you!"

"Don't you be complaining! Your dad is the mayor! That is about the most interesting thing ever!" Astrid counters.

"If only we could trade families," Orina jokes and Astrid smiles.

_If only,_ Astrid thinks.

"Attention everyone, the reaping will be starting shortly!" the peppy capital escort calls into the microphone.

"I probably should be going now. You know how annoying my dad can get if things are late," Orina says to Astrid.

Astrid chuckles. Orina was always telling her how her dad hated their current capital advisor because he was always an hour late to everything. Apparently it was the new fashion in the capital.

"Ok, have fun!" Astrid jokes and Orina walks up to the stage.

Astrid only has to stand by herself for a minute or two before the reaping starts. The escort introduces the mayor and he begins his speech. The whole time Astrid and Orina are playing the game that they've played for a few years at the reaping.

Astrid makes the weirdest faces she can and tries to get Orina to laugh. If she laughs Astrid gets one point, but if she doesn't Orina gets the point. They play this the whole reaping, and then whoever has the most points at the end wins.

Astrid screws her face up in a pained expression and crosses her eyes. Orina can't control it and she lets out a snort of laughter. Her dad stops his speech and turns around to look at her strangely. This just makes her laugh even more. Her dad just looks confused, but he goes back to the speech so that he can finish it on time.

Astrid pulls another face but Orina controls herself this time as she smirks at Astrid.

_Darn it, I'll need to step it up. She's winning,_ Astrid thinks to herself.

By this time, the speech is over and the escort is walking over to the girls bowl. Astrid thinks for a second, and then pulls the weirdest face she can think of, but at the same time the escort is drawing a name out of the bowl.

"Astrid Yoziaz!" he calls out.

Everyone standing around Astrid backs away so that the cameras can get a good shot of her. Astrid freezes, her face still in the funny expression. Everyone giggles when they see it.

_Shoot! Relax your face Astrid,_ she tells herself, and after a few seconds she is able to relax her muscles and get it back to normal. She stands there for a few seconds, waiting for someone to shout out and volunteer. When nothing happens she stands there, not sure what to do. Someone from behind pushes her and she stumbles forward. She continues up to the stage in a daze. How could this have happened? Her brothers had made it sound impossible for her name to be drawn, and for her to be reaped.

She stands onstage in despair, ignoring everything around her as she thinks about how quickly her life had changed. She jumps when she feels a hand slip into hers. She looks down and sees Orina's hand clutching her hand. Without hesitation she wraps her fingers around Orina's, and they stand there, clinging together for the rest of the reaping.

* * *

Ocean Crescent

"Wow, I can't believe no one volunteered for her!" Rowan rambles nervously. " I wonder why? Will no one volunteer for the boys? What if there are no volunteers from 4 this year? Will we still be the careers?"

On and on he goes until Ocean finally takes a piece of candy out of his pocket.

"Here Rowan, have this candy," Ocean says, handing it to him.

"Ooooh, yummy. Thanks!" Rowan says as he unwraps it and pops it in his mouth.

Sometimes dealing with Rowan and dealing with Shell was the same. They are both very distractible, and so that is why Ocean always had some type of candy with him, just in case one of them was being too annoying. he would give them a piece to quiet them.

Ocean looks at his friend and sighs. On the outside he looked like an innocent and happy guy, but Ocean had known him for too long to be fooled. Today when he picked him up he had seen bruises on his arms and one on his face before he got a long sleeved shirt and put concealer on his face.

Ocean looks up onstage and sees two terrified girls clutching onto each other. A peacekeeper tries to pry them apart, but he can't do it without hurting them. It's illegal to hurt a tribute and Ocean realizes the other girl must be the mayor's daughter, so the peacekeeper leaves them alone with a scowl.

The escort is already at the boys' ball by now and is drawing out a name.

"Rowan Mariner!" he says.

Rowan freezes, eyes wide, every muscle rigid, ready to run. The camera zooms in and Rowan's face is projected on the big screen for everyone to see. Ocean's mind seems to freeze as he sees Rowan's fear projected in enormous scale for everyone to gawk at. Then he realizes what is happening as Rowan brushes past him to start towards the stage.

"Wait!" Ocean screams. "I volunteer! My name is Ocean Crescent and I volunteer as tribute!"

The camera zooms in on him and his face appears - clean cut, serious, and huge, projected on the big screen on the stage. A few girls scream and one even faints as he walks by them to get to the front. When he gets on stage the escort looks pleased that he has at least one good looking volunteer. The girl had been such a disappointment.

"District 4, I present to you your District 4 tributes for the 26th annual Hunger Games, Ocean Crescent and Astrid Yoziaz!"


End file.
